Bear Digest

Winners and Losers from Bears Offseason Practices

With the full team done practicing together until training camp, it's apparent some Bears emerged from offseason work looking like they're in better position than others.

Gene Chamberlain

Bears tackle Braxton Jones moves out to make a block on a blocking dummy as Caleb Williams throws a screen pass in OTAs.
Bears tackle Braxton Jones moves out to make a block on a blocking dummy as Caleb Williams throws a screen pass in OTAs. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

Three minicamp practices and two weeks of OTAs on the field with the full team do not provide much of proving ground.

At this point, it's all the Bears have had and this week's "quarterback school," as Matt Eberflus called it by borrowing a name from early 1990s offseasons, is more like a rookie camp and really doesn't count. The work they'll do is a glorified walk-through. The last session Wednesday, one media can view, is only an hour long.

Still, some of the players who finished the three weeks of actual on-field work and competition took better advantage of it than others.

Here are the winners and losers from Bears offseason practices. Just because a player is a loser doesn't mean they've lost a battle or opportunity. In some cases, they've been prevented from winning because of circumstances.

The Offseason Winners

1. S Kevin Byard

When the Bears came to work, there were websites--namely CBS Sports--calling the former Titans and Eagles safety one of the worst signings of the offseason.

The bar wasn't very high for Byard based on last season. He replaced Eddie Jackson after the former Bears veteran safety had a passer rating against of 120.6, gave up the second-highest TD pass total of his career (3) and missed five games for the second straight year.

Still, Jackson was in place seven seasons and had been a Pro Bowl player two straight years at the start of his career.

Byard seemed to hold things together well all through offseason work. They needed a communicator and general of sorts because Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker can supply plenty of fire. Byard seemed exactly what they needed in working coverages.

"Really, those guys are both great players," safety Jaquan Brisker said. "Really no drop-off. That's really the difference. They're playing left and right (safety). And then KB has a lot of football IQ, veteran football IQ that he's brought to the team. A lot of leadership, he's very vocal and things like that. It’s been good."

Byard has been rated by Pro Football Focus as the 12th best safety in the league coming into this year, and it's not always possible to sign a player of that quality for half the price his predecessor was paid.

It's not only cerebral but physical with Byard. He isn't going to play back in a deep safety position all the time. The Bears are planning to move both safeties more into the box and out of it than they did with Jackson.

"I had 122 tackles last year so I like to mix it up a little bit," Byard said. "I just like playing football. You know what I mean? Like, I played a lot of ball. I can do both. It just depends. I like to be back, too. I like to catch interceptions. It really just depends on the call."

Considering this was one of the few big questions about the defense going into this season, making it apparent they've solved it is a great early step toward their defensive goal of maining last year's momentum.

"People respect him just because of the man he is and he's been a devoted guy to this game for a long time," Eberflus said. "You can really feel that. That's palpable. You can feel the love of the game that he has. He's very respectful. He's like a coach on the field. He's got really good ball-hawking ability. That's why I like him a lot."

There's real reason to believe last year's struggles in Philadelphia had to do with changing teams at midseason after he'd been with the Titans his entire career. A full offseason with the Bears gives him a solid base to start his time in Chicago, one he didn't get with the Eagles.

2. Caleb Williams

Coming in after Justin Fields' popularity with teammates and fans, there were so many ways Williams could slip up. Even when he had a few bad practices, he found ways to do and say the right thing in addition to making his passing ability more apparent during the non-contact work of OTAS and minicamp. He also had good practices besides the bad ones.

"He's progressed all the way across and hit guys,' Eberflus said. "He's progressed to open spaces in his first two progressions and dotted guys. I think it's been really good."

Williams won fans by making appearances at Cubs, Sox and Sky games, as well as at various establishments across the city. Wherever he has been, he played the role of the next offensive leader well.

Offseason work for a rookie quarterback is a difficult task and Williams definitely had troubles with the cadences in coordinator Shane Waldron's offense. He also has yet to pick up how difficult it is to throw deep or intermediate routes over the middle after holding the ball in the NFL. He seems to learn every day, though.

'I didn’t come in necessarily with the expectation to be and seem like a 13-year vet," Williams said. "I came in to work, to work my tail off, show the guys that I'm here, I'm working my tail off, I'm progressing and trying not to make the same mistake again. That's the biggest thing, day-in and day-out, is trying not to make the same mistake over and over and learn from them. That’s been my biggest thing for me.

"And also understanding that I'm leading an organization and a team, so just having that mindset and being in that mind state and just trying to find my flow."

It's impossible to say a rookie quarterback in the first few practices is going to be a success. However, there have definitely been some with the Bears you could say are going to be failures or face rough roads because of what they're doing early on and off the field, and Williams doesn't fit in this category.

3. WR Rome Odunze

When he suffered a slight injury in his first rookie camp practice, there were actually Bears followers on social media labeling him a wasted draft pick or a new Kevin White. One practice.

Odunze is highly skilled and as much as practice without pads or hitting allowed this to come out, it did.

It was very telling when Eberflus labeled him the player who most jumped out at him after the last minicamp practice.

4. LB Tremaine Edmunds

After last season, Edmunds drew fire as a player who didn't live up to the $71 million deal he received in free agency. Those who said that jumped to conclusions based on his first half last year, one slowed due to training camp injuries.

He had six Pro Football Focus grades in the 50s or lower in his first seven games but built momentum in the second half with only three of the final eight below 60. Edmunds started offseason work looking like he knew where to be in his drops within zone coverage, and then used his speed to rally to the ball.

5. G Matt Pryor

Before OTAs and minicamp, Pryor might have been thought of by some as a camp player. Instead, an apparent injury to Nate Davis and the way the Bears decided to alternate their competing centers gave him a chance to take the majority of his snaps with the first-team offense.

Pryor has been thought of as a tackle at 6-7, 337, but he has position versatility and showed it. He has played 1,085 snaps at tackle, 808 at guard and will be a force for Larry Borom and Ja'Tyre Carter to dislodge if they hope to stick on the roster.

6. DT Gervon Dexter

He showed real physical change and a better ability to get off the ball and upfield in pass rush during camp as he begins Year 2 as the favorite to replace starter Justin Jones. The problem is, they need to see this on run defense from him and without pads or hitting there is no way to accurately gauge this. At least he's off to a solid start as a pass rusher.

BEARS FIND CALEB WILLIAMS DIFFERENT THAN ADVERTISED

BIG DOG RETURNING TO BEARS FOR 19TH NFL SEASON PER REPORT

BEARS HOPE FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF CALEB WILLIAMS ARE LASTING

The Offseason Losers

1. G Nate Davis

Davis is being given plenty of respect. PFF graded him in the top half of the league among guards even after a tough first year with the Bears. Then the former Titans player was able to participate in only a handful of plays at the second minicamp practice and none the first or third day, after he didn't take part in OTAs. Not much is known about his injury or if there is one. Eberflus didn't shed much light on the topic.

"He has been our starter, right?" Eberflus said after being asked about it. "So I expect him to be in there.”

2. T Kiran Amegadjie

The third-round rookie tackle from Yale couldn't help it. However, missing all of the offseason work sure doesn't help him. It was necessary after his quad injury last year that required surgery, but OTAs and a minicamp when the starting right guard was missing and some practice time was missed by both the starting left and right tackle would have meant a real chance to gain favor with coaches and prove he could be more than an interested observer in his first season.

THE PRACTICES BEARS FANS CAN ATTEND AT TRAINING CAMP

Amegadjie has experience at guard and coaches could have looked at him there during Davis' absence rather than use Pryor. They didn't get the chance. It was well known they wouldn't get the chance, but it's still an opportunity lost. He'll have real ground to make up when training camp begins and will have to do it while there are pads and actual hitting.

3. TE Stephen Carlson

He spent all last year on the practice squad and appeared to have the upper hand over Tommy Sweeney and Brenden Bates in the battle for the third tight end slot but the Bears reportedly want to bring back 40-year-old tight end Marcedes "Big Dog" Lewis now. This isn't a good sign and with so many weapons at the wide receiver and running back position it seems very unlikely they'd keep more than three tight ends on the roster. 

4. T Braxton Jones

When your chief competition for the position is unable to practice as he recovers from injury, there is no better time to pad your lead. Instead, Jones missed the last two days of minicamp with what Eberflus called a "precautionary" injury. There is no sense pushing it in minicamp if a player is hurt, but it still goes down as a missed opportunity when Amegadjie can't practice and you can't, either.

5. WR Dante Pettis

He's getting another chance to be the punt returner after missing 2023 with a preseason injury, and none of the top five receivers are going to get the chance to do this on a regular basis unless the Bears decide they foolishly want to risk this with Odunze. Showing he can fit into the offense, as well, would have been a real plus for his cause and instead he was among those injured and watching at minicamp.

6. CB Terell Smith

After a rookie year when he got to make four starts and put up a passer rating against when targeted similar to rookie starter Tyrique Stevenson, Smith had several instances when he was beaten for bigger gains at minicamp and OTAs. Velus Jones Jr. beat him deep once for a TD. Labeled a close competitor for Stevenson in Year 2 at starting cornerback, Smith showed he has ground yet to close before being able to do more than be a challenger.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.